Dream of being own boss inspires couple to open Beach St. restaurant

LAURIE HAHNBUSINESS WRITER

Monday

Mar 25, 2013 at 4:44 PMMar 25, 2013 at 8:08 PM

Premo's Grille in downtown Daytona Beach is the American dream come true for a transplanted couple from New York.

DAYTONA BEACH — Premo's Grille in downtown Daytona Beach is the American dream come true for a transplanted couple from New York. Dale Kissell and his partner, Nancy Connell, opened the restaurant at 156 S. Beach St. on New Year's Eve, after moving to Volusia County from Rochester, N.Y., in September. "I've always wanted to own a restaurant," Kissell said. "I just didn't want to work for anyone else. I wanted to be my own boss." Premo's Grille is the couple's first business. Kissell is a former long-distance truck driver who worked in the restaurant business when he was younger, and Connell is a department manager at Target in Orlando. Connell continues to work at Target, while Kissell manages the restaurant full time. Once they had decided to open a restaurant, the couple didn't waste any time pursuing their dream of owning their own business. They saw the former Angell & Phelps Café advertised for sale on craigslist.com, and, as Kissell puts it: "We found the place on Dec. 10, signed the paperwork on Dec. 17 and took over on Dec. 28. It was pretty fast and furious." The couple financed the purchase through a personal loan. Though they had no restaurant management experience and no business plan, Kissell, who has an associate's degree in business, already knew what he wanted. "Our focus is on fresh," he said. "We don't use frozen foods — we do as much as possible ourselves." Ned Harper, director of the Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College, said there is a definite consumer demand for quality restaurants in the Volusia-Flagler area, but there is also a lot of competition among existing eateries. Harper, who has not met Kissell and Connell, recommended the couple get involved in a trade association or find industry mentors. "If there's a nice restaurant that you like that's not in competition with you, develop a relationship," he said. "Someone in the industry can teach you the tricks." Financials also are important, Harper said. Any business owner should know the exact cost of what they are selling. "You don't want to bring in too much business if you're selling below cost," he said. Kissell said he tries to keep costs down by doing a lot of the work himself. He works 12 to 13 hours each day, Monday through Saturday, and manages a staff of five employees — three wait staff and two cooks. He also developed the menu and does most of the cooking. Connell works at the restaurant on her days off. The couple are trying to attract customers to the 85-seat restaurant by bringing in live music on Friday and Saturday nights and by keeping prices affordable (the menu ranges from $7.50 for salads to $17.95 for the most expensive entrée). "If you can get into the right location and develop the right niche menu, then obviously your rate of success is going to go up," Kissell said. So far, their business has increased by approximately 60 percent in the last two months, he said. Kissell and Connell, both 41, vacationed in Daytona Beach in 2011 and fell in love with the area, Kissell said. "It took us two years to finally get all the pieces in place. I'll never spend another winter in the snow. You don't have to shovel sunshine." The couple, who now live in DeLand, originally met in high school, went their separate ways, then reconnected more than 20 years later. Each has two sons. They plan on expanding the Premo's Grille menu and eventually doing some renovations to the restaurant in the future, though they will leave the original stone and brick walls alone. "It's just a really great building — there's a lot of Daytona Beach history in here," Kissell said. "We're just trying to provide an affordable, comfortable atmosphere where people can come and enjoy themselves."

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